A Bronx grand jury is set to vote today on whether to indict up to 17 cops in the NYPD ticket-fixing scandal, law-enforcement sources told The Post last night.
Criminal charges against the officer – including union delegates, sergeants and possibly other high-ranking police officials — may include obstruction, official misconduct and bribery related to lining their pockets with proceeds from drug sales.
The potential indictments are the culmination of an exhaustive three-year investigation that began with Internal Affairs Bureau cops looking into 40th Precinct Officer José Ramos and his alleged ties to drug dealers, according to sources.
Investigators caught Ramos on a wiretap talking about fixing a ticket, leading to a mushrooming probe that uncovered allegedly shady police practices.
The IAB bugged union officials, who were caught discussing fixing tickets for friends and family members.
The officers allegedly took cash, liquor and other gifts, including tickets to sporting events and, possibly, meals at expensive restaurants.
In one case, a Yankee executive saw his ticket suddenly vanish.
A law-enforcement source told The Post that police brass will be happy once this scandal is over.
“This has been a huge strain on the department,” the source said.
“A lot of people are going to be relieved when the indictments come down.”
Another source said the whole investigation of the affair has left “police officers with a bad taste in their mouths.”
“Crime is way down over the last decade, and they’re breaking cops’ chops over tickets.
“There is lightning focus on traffic court,” the source added.
“They have Internal Affairs sergeants sitting in traffic court. They are making sure that traffic cops go to the court date and testify properly to the point of obsession.”
Dozens of cops have already been disciplined by the department for a variety of ticket-related matters.
The penalties have included docking their vacation days, stripping them of their guns and putting them on modified duty.
The proposal to punish cops with the loss of vacation days if they don’t present proper paperwork at future Traffic Court hearings has led to drastic decline in the number of tickets issued.
The ongoing probe appears to have pushed one officer to the limit.
Last week, Robert McGee, a 30-year department veteran, tried to electrocute himself by touching the third rail of a subway rather than potentially testify against his fellow officers, sources said.
Additional reporting by Kirstan Conley